Monday, November 30, 2009

At long last! I’m sure I’ll be regretting these words in a couple of months but this is our backyard at 7:45 this morning…

It took until the last day of November to arrive…the snow, i.e. and not Santa…at least not yet! As you can see in the background beyond the fence, the farmer has yet to harvest the corn so I guess the deer will be plentiful this winter enjoying the feast that was left for them.

Yesterday I started to decorate for Christmas. Although I haven’t completely finished, the tree is up, a few of the other decorations are in place and the outside is done except for a string of lights in one of the urns that needs to be replaced because it decided not to light up this year. That will be done later today after my trip to the store to buy a replacement set.

There’s nothing more beautiful than a Christmas tree shining brightly with hand made ornaments displayed for all to see. I can sit and stare at it for hours.

Can you see the reflection of the Christmas lights in the glass panes of the quilt cupboard?

And now the sideboard in our hallway has been changed to display it’s Christmas finery...

as well as the hunt table…

and the island in the kitchen. Did you notice the sheep chocolate mold? That was a recent birthday gift from my friend Lucie. I absolutely love it and it will be a welcome addition to my sheep collection.

The quilt on the bed in the spare bedroom has been changed to the antique red and white one in anticipation of Christmas visitors.

And I couldn’t forget the feather tree on the corner cabinet with it’s pipe cleaner santa ornaments atop the corner cabinet in the kitchen .

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

I still have some fresh greenery to add here and there but for the most part, the holiday decorating is done. Soon the baking will begin and the house will be filled with familiar aromas, synonymous only with Christmas.

And if you can believe it, this Friday, the 4th of December, is the First Friday of the month…already! You know what that means! Don’t forget to come back because that’s when the 4th FFF (First Friday Freebie) will be made available for you to download and enjoy. Until then…

Just last week, my swap partner, Nerina, received the goodies I sent to her.

My gifts from back to front in the photo included a pillow which I stencilled with authentic cream paints and then hand quilted.

In the upper left is a snowman that I made from a vintage bobbin.

To the right of the bobbin is a old world style santa that I made from a vintage pint milk bottle. Can you see the original bottle cap?

Coming forward and on the left is a primitive snowman ornament and to the right of him are two snowmen ornaments that I made from styrofoam balls covered with crinkled tissue paper. The noses are made from the same sculpting clay as the santa beard and fur.

Hiding behind the snowmen is a candle in a glass votive and right in front is a battery operated tea light in an candle holder with some pears around it to add interest.

Today when I went to the post office, there was a card in our box indicating that there was a parcel waiting to be picked up inside. Lo and behold, here’s what was waiting for me.

A parcel from Nerina!

And inside the box…

All these wonderful goodies…a framed stitchery with the words, “It’s a wonderful life”, 3 star-shaped bowl fillers, 2 glass votive candles, a Christmas scented room freshener, a wooden placque and a garland with made made hearts, snowmen and stockings!

Thank you so much, Nerina and a special thanks to Char for hosting the swap.

~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~

Do you realize that Christmas is less than a month away? I hope to start my holiday decorating this weekend but I’m having a difficult time trying to get into the spirit with the unseasonably mild temperatures we’ve been experiencing lately. The grass is still green and the ground hasn’t frozen yet either!

Monday, November 23, 2009

There has been a lot of talk in the last little while about copyright and copyright infringement. In all honesty, until I started designing and publishing in the decorative painting industry more than 20 years ago, I knew virtually nothing about copyright laws except for the obvious…that you can’t copy something and call it your own.

What has come up in recent discussions is the general belief that as long as a design is altered by at least 10%, then you can then call the “new” design your own. Nothing is further from the truth. Copying any part of any design that is not your own and using it in a design that you deem as yours and as original is a blatant copyright violation, especially if it is being sold for profit under a different name. Ignorance of copyright laws is NOT an acceptable excuse in a court of law.

Just last week, when I was perusing one of my favorite magazines, I saw something that for a second, literally took my breath away. As I was flipping through the back of the magazine where one can read about and see items for sale (which admittedly I very seldom read), I saw this staring back at me.

Well mine was, I don’t believe it! What I immediately recognized was a combination of some of my painted designs altered by some other ‘artist’ who is claiming this to be an original of theirs. NOT!

This artist/thief has taken elements from three of my designs, two of which come from one of my books, specifically this one which was published in 2006.

The pumpkin, leaves and corn come from this design…

and the pear comes from this design.

Some of the corn, the crock and even the design on the crock were taken from this design which I designed, published and taught at a convention in Columbus, Ohio in 2000.

I am still shaking my head in disbelief, even as I write this.

Before I retired from the decorative painting industry, I was asked to sell the rights to some of my designs to a company who would then use them for whatever purpose they chose. This is called “licensing”. The company pays you a mutually agreed upon fee and the artist relinquishes all rights to the design thereafter. For personal reasons, primarily because I had no input as to how or where the designs would be used, I declined.

Part of the licensing agreement is that one must sign a form stating that the design being sold is 100% original and is not in violation of copyright, thereby exempting the company of all liabilities should there ever be a lawsuit.

At this point I would like to say that I do not blame or hold either the magazine or the manufacturing company responsible. I blame the ‘artist’. As you have seen, even the theme of the design was not original. All the elements for this ‘new’ design were taken from my copyrighted designs and reconfigured in such a way to be deemed unrecognizable. I knew that they were mine as soon as I saw them.

My question to you all is what would you do if you were in my shoes? I would really like to hear what you have to say. Thanks and…

Happy stitching!

Kaaren ♥

P.S. A note to Kathy who left a comment on my post entitled “BOO” regarding the vintage images. I would love to reply to you but you are a “no-reply” blogger and there was no email address on your profile page either. Please email me if you would like an answer.

Monday, November 16, 2009

I must confess that my addiction to scissors has not improved. As a matter of fact, since I first ‘fessed up’ back in August…which you can read about here if you missed it…it’s gotten worse!

Those pictured above are only a small representation of my collection but I must share with you my new way of displaying them.

A glass flower frog!

Don’t they look so cool displayed that way?

What I haven’t shown is the second one…also full. *sigh* I’ll save that for another time.

All of my swap gifts are done, wrapped, packaged and ready to mail. Two are being sent tomorrow and the last one can be mailed on Friday. One is going to Ontario, another to the UK and the last one to Australia. Now I can concentrate on my Christmas gifts which are coming along nicely as well.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Bright and early last Saturday morning, Mr. Painted Quilt and I left on a road trip to Shelburne, Vermont. The fall foliage was past but the day was destined to be full of color, nonetheless. The purpose of our trip was to attend the Hooked in the Mountains XIV show, sponsored by the Green Mountain Rug Hooking Guild.

Because we were in no rush, we took our time to get there. Vermont is a beautiful state and the green mountains in and around Burlington and Shelburne are simply breathtaking.

As we made our way along Interstate 89, I had to take a picture of the mountains in the distance. The peaks were snow-covered, even at this time of year.

A short while later, we arrived at our destination…the Shelburne Museum.

The rug hooking show was held inside the museum which is pictured above.

The building is very deceiving from the outside because it is actually on three levels. On the first two levels, over 200 hooked rugs were displayed.

All of the rugs were amazing. I could see myself falling in love with this art form very easily, but quickly talked myself out of it.

I just had to take a photo of the Westie because he looks so much like our Mac.After admiring all the hooked rugs on the first two floors, I made my way to the lower level and found myself in WOOL HEAVEN! There were approximately 20 vendors…all selling WOOL! Wool in every color imaginable…and then some!

Be still my ♥ !

My ♥ started to palpitate and I didn’t know where to start. After giving myself a shake, I managed to collect my thoughts and settled down to do some serious shopping.

And…

And…

And finally…

I think my wool addiction has been satisfied… until next year’s show at least. Now I can tackle all those projects on my ‘to do’ list that require copious amounts of wool. Woo hoo!

And no shopping trip would be complete without a visit to one of the LQS for more turkey red and cheddar fabric…right?

I ♥ my friends

About Me

I am an artist and have recently retired from actively designing, publishing and travel teaching in the decorative painting industry. In December of 2010, we moved from Eastern Ontario to the beautiful Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia. Quilting, stitching, wool applique and rug hooking are just a few of my passions.
During the last 5 years I have released over 40 new and FREE designs here on my blog. Just scroll down and you'll find the links to all of my FREE patterns available in PDF format under the title First Friday Freebies and More First Friday Freebies. Click on them one at a time to download and print the photos, instructions and line drawings. Enjoy!